Healing Touch

Researchers have developed a device that can begin healing injuries with a single touch. The technology, known as Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), works by reprogramming cells into other types of cells that are needed for healing.

In a laboratory test on mice, the dime-sized device was used to repair injured legs over a three-week period by transforming skin cells into vascular cells to restore blood flow. In another experiment, it was used to convert skin cells into brain cells, restoring brain function in a mouse that had suffered a stroke.

This is the first technology capable of reprogramming cells in a live body. Unlike current cell therapy methods, which introduce a virus and require multiple steps to reprogram damaged cells, TNT transforms cells by injecting them with a completely new genetic code and begins to take effect in seconds. The technology can easily be deployed in the field and could potentially save the lives of accident victims and injured military personnel by enabling treatment to be initiated on site.

The developers are currently awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human clinical trials, which is expected within a year.